Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

As Bastion gazed before him, he laid eyes upon a strange entity that could only be described as neither human nor animal. The entity before his eyes possessed an abnormal body, with two unusual growths sprouting from the area between its massive shoulder blades.

It was hunching over a desk, seemingly scribbling away at some unknown papyrus. However, throughout this scribbling, one could hear maddened grunts and disgruntled rambling echo throughout the room.

These grunts weren't loud, yet they borrowed upon some strange energy to become far more clear and distinct, almost resembling a conversation between two humans. 

Aside from the noise and the abnormal growths, Kieran and Bastion both noticed a few more unusual things.

This strange entity before them also wore a tattered lab coat stretched to its limits, which already had many tears in the admittedly stretchy fabric. 

In some places of this individual's body was hair, though other places lacked hair completely. But most bizarre of all, some places had overgrown hair, akin to a wild animal's fur.

"This thing is literally… huge," Nemean muttered, arriving behind Bastion and Kieran with his mouth agape.

Nemean's comment alerted everyone else to another fact—this entity was quite large–at least twice the size of Agrianos and Scar–who were already colossal beings by human standards.

'This size… it's already comparable to the Lesser Cyclops, but this isn't a cyclops,' Kieran thought, immediately understanding what was wrong. 

In his eyes, he could see several unusual and discordant energies circulating through the entity's body.

All of a sudden, a subtle tremor traveled into the distance as this figure turned around, revealing maddened eyes that also hid reason, masked by a pair of fractured glasses. 

"You have come to disturb my precious research?!"

As soon as this individual asked that question, the two growths on their back opened their eyes, revealing eyes originating from beasts. One set seemed as if it belonged to a reptile of sorts, while the other ostensibly belonged to a goat creature.

"This… is this the Mad Alchemist?" Bastion questioned, subconsciously tightening his grip on his Will Armament. 

The unusual energy signature, which felt like several different things combined, somewhat unsettled Bastion because it made it difficult to predict what he should prepare for.

All of a sudden, the Mad Alchemist's human-like face began taking on animalistic traits—specifically that of a lion. Due to this change, he resembled something along the lines of a hybrid race.

"Have you puny humans that can't open their eyes to what's before them come to interrupt my research again? I won't allow it!" The Mad Alchemist snarled, slashing his hand across the air.

In an instant, the wind pressure from his action sent a condensed burst of wind hurtling toward the party. 

Thankfully, Bastion raised his shield and resisted it despite being pushed back incredibly far.

"...What type of power is this?!" Bastion questioned, looking at his aching arms in disbelief. Even handling the head-on attacks of the earlier Champion Monsters didn't compare to the weight of the wind pressure he just resisted.

"That… was no normal strike," Kieran explained, solemnly narrowing his gaze. 

While the others struggled to realize what just took place, it was clear as day to Kieran. 

That "wind" carried a large amount of the discordant energies flowing through the Mad Alchemist's body, particularly one harnessing the great strength of this lion-like transformation.

"Compared to the other monsters we have faced thus far, I think it's safe to say this guy comes the closest to a genuine chimera," Alice spoke up, alerting everyone of her understanding.

Though the earlier creatures were described as homunculi or chimeric, the principles of such beings were not embodied properly, which was why they were generally identified as incomplete. 

At best, those creatures could emulate traits of another race, but they couldn't wield them as their own, which was the basis of being a chimera or homunculus.

One needed to embody the aspects of the test subjects to near perfection.

As Kieran listened to Alice's comment, he placed his hand behind his back, tightly gripping onto Crimson Ashrune. After that, the Tensile Blood Swath fastened to his back unraveled gradually as he inched the blade above his head and brandished it slowly.

"This… will be difficult," Kieran admitted, growing somewhat unsure after learning of the Dungeon Boss's true information.

「 Lv.58 Mad Alchemist Bundal, Chimeric Abomination (Epic)

Dungeon Boss

Amalgam - Enhanced Humanoid

Health: 66,000,000/66,000,000 (100%) 」

"Hooo…" Kieran exhaled, taking in the information. He had suspicions that it would have turned out like this. 

Not only was Bundal an Epic Boss, but his level was 5 levels higher than the dungeon's Recommended Level.

Of course, this part wasn't that unbelievable since the higher the dungeon difficulty grew, the larger the level difference between the Dungeon Boss and the Recommended Level would become. 

After all, these difficulties were designed to provide a challenge, why would fairness be a factor in determining what a player could and could not do?

In the end, it was all about if the players could overcome the odds of the run they chose to step into.

When Bundal failed to knock back these intruders, he stood up, revealing his towering yet grotesque experimental body.

"Is this your first time going against an Epic Boss?" Kieran suddenly questioned, briefly glancing in Khaos' direction. 

Based on what Kieran witnessed from Khaos' reaction, he could tell that Khaos did not foresee a final opponent of this caliber.

"If I'm being honest… it is. I wouldn't know how to react even if you asked me. After all, I've learned that the rankings in Zenith Online are quite… unusual. Even if their ranking is the same, there could still be a huge disparity in power," Khaos replied.

"Correct. That's extremely true. When it comes to ranking, we should only look at it for a moment. What's more important is their level. For an Epic Boss, every level beyond 50 is a monumental increase in power," Kieran revealed, the blood aura surrounding his body thickening in anticipation of the upcoming battle.

Similar to NPCs after undergoing their Advancement, monsters received an immediate power boost after reaching Lv.50. While the increase wasn't as drastic as NPCs who had further mastered their power, it was substantial.

'Unlike NPCs, monsters are all about attributes. However, at some point, a ridiculous chasm between attributes leads to the same unconquerable feeling as going up against someone with a mastered power,' Kieran thought.

"If you feel danger at any time, I advise you to pull back immediately," Kieran warned, directing these words at Bastion.

"That bad?" Bastion asked.

"Far worse than Rautori," Kieran admitted.

The fact that Kieran made this comparison, despite the fact that Bastion owned a Legendary Class, made him grimace and gulp dramatically.

However, it was understandable as the number of attributes a monster received per level far exceeded what a player received.

"Leaveee!" Bundal suddenly bellowed, a manic light flashing in his eyes. 

The growth on his shoulders flashed with the same menacing light as a strange burst of sound soon erupted from Bundal's throat.

When Bastion moved to intercept this attack, his body shook violently, blood seeping from his nose and ears. A droning ring resounded in his ears as he looked around, struggling to stabilize himself without being able to hear.

In the meantime, Kieran noticed how disoriented Bastion became and motioned for Sera to intervene.

"Extreme Prayer: Overflowing Vitality," Sera called out after a deep chant.

A thick mist of pleasant energy encased Bastion, quickly attempting to heal the damage done to his body. 

However, Bundal didn't let this happen before him.

"For disrupting the records of my research, you deserve death!" Bundal bellowed. 

All of a sudden, the muscles in his comically large legs flexed. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before Bastion, his large fist dropping towards his head.

"Spell of the Permafrost: Frozen Bindings!"

A magic circle appeared on the floor as Khaos drove his blade into the ground, instantly creating a circular zone of ice-like ribbons that moved to restrict Bundal's movements.

Nevertheless, Bundal only mockingly looked at the ribbons before roaring and flexing his body. In response, the ribbon shattered almost instantly. 

Though, before his fist could reach Bastion's body, a ghastly presence flickered past, moving Bastion out of the way while placing him beside Sera.

"There's something off about this boss. It's too intelligent," Kieran remarked, slowly turning toward Bundal, who similarly narrowed his eyes.

"You… you would be a fine specimen to experiment on. I can feel it, you're not regular, human!" Bundal's expression contorted with excitement as he looked at Kieran with the fervent desire to experiment on him.

'What a frenzied gaze. Truly someone that has submitted to their every impulse. Somewhat of a blemish—a stain—for true Alchemists. Far too indulgent,' Kieran thought, his earlier solemn gaze calming.

"Unfortunately, I already have someone hellbent on obtaining further knowledge and she tends to use me as her guinea pig. So that role is filled. Besides…"

Kieran paused, a dangerous aura beginning to flicker around his body. 

It wasn't related to any sort of skill. Instead, this aura was birthed from Kieran's lust to battle against Bundal which was further heightened by the Imprint of Might's effects.

In terms of presence, it rivaled when Kieran first unleashed Abhorrent Paroxysm against Rautori. The difference now was that this aura was created purely by Kieran's emotions, not a skill.

Bundal squinted after that, revealing contempt. "That look in your eyes. I don't like it. A prime test subject should understand when they're meant to be reduced to nothing other than an experiment—a source of irrefutable knowledge!"

"Ah, knowledge exists in many shapes and forms. As an Alchemist, you should understand that," Kieran said in response, shaking his head.

"What makes you think I do not?" Bundal retorted, his lips curling into a gruesome grin that revealed his large teeth belonging to a beast. "By all means, I shall show you the fruits of my sublime quest for knowledge!"

Rmmmmble!

In an instant, a strange circle appeared beneath Bundal's feet as his right arm was ripped to shreds. 

However, it returned in the next moment as a hardened multi-branched blade. While it appeared serrated, describing it as such would be incorrect.